Financial Analysis of the Budget of the City of Blagoveshchensk

The relevance of this study topic stems from the growing importance of a municipal budget as a key instrument of financial management, ensuring sustainable socio-economic development of the territory and improving the quality of life for the local population. Under current conditions of decentralisation of power and the transfer of significant powers to the level of local self-government, in-depth and systematic analysis of a municipal budget becomes particularly significant. Such analysis makes it possible to identify reserves for optimising expenditure, increasing revenue, and enhancing financial autonomy. Using the example of the budget of the city of Blagoveshchensk, the research gains additional significance given its strategic geographical location, the active development of a cross-border agglomeration with the city of Heihe, and the implementation of large-scale investment projects that affect budgetary processes. The study object is the budget of the city of Blagoveshchensk as an integral part of the financial system of the municipality. The study subject is the structure of the revenue and expenditure parts of the budget, the dynamics of their changes, factors influencing the formation and execution of the budget, as well as an assessment of the effectiveness of the city’s budgetary policy. The study aims to perform a comprehensive analysis of the revenue and expenditure parts of the budget of Blagoveshchensk, to identify the main trends and problems in its formation and execution, and to evaluate the impact of ongoing municipal programmes and investment projects on the city's financial sustainability. The study methods include comparative and structural analysis, methods of statistical data processing, regulatory and legal analysis, as well as a systemic approach to studying the budget process and the factors influencing it. The authors conclude that the steady increase in the revenue part of the budget, achieved through the growth of tax and non-tax revenues, as well as gratuitous receipts from higher-level budgets, has made it possible not only to maintain the stability of the city’s financial system but also to end the year with a budget surplus of 390,084.9 thousand roubles. Priority in budget expenditure has been given to the implementation of municipal programmes aimed at improving the quality of life of the population, developing urban infrastructure, and supporting education, culture, and sport. A significant place is occupied by measures related to the implementation of the “May” decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, which underlines the social orientation of the budgetary policy.